Tales from the 4th Wall: Welcomes and Introduction
by Persona
Summary: Welcome to the 4th Wall Bar and Grill. Please check your sanity at the door, pull up a chair, and enjoy yourself! An introduction to the 4th Wall and the insanity that goes on within.
1. Origins

Tales from the 4th Wall

By: Persona

Disclaimer

The 4th Wall Bar and Grill and Persona are (c) Persona

Author's forward:

Those who know me know I've advertised the 4th Wall for a while now in my Canadian Rant spoofs, and the AS Side Stories.

Though up until now it's only been a piece of character background with an occasional cameo here and there, I'm proud to announce that I'm finally turning the 4th Wall into an ongoing series. Those who know me also know that I'm not the fastest person in the world when it comes to updating!

I'll try to work on my updating frequency as the series progresses, so please bare with me. Also, I want this series to be as reader interactive as possible, so any and all are welcome to make cameo appearances. More details about this at the end of the chapter.

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**Part One: Origins**

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Unbeknownst to most, there is a point in dimensional limbo that intersects all possible realities. One who enters this area has the option of travelling anywhere in the multiverse, assuming they know where they want to go, and even more important, how to get there. This inter-dimensional nexus was, at first, a very unstable environment. Occasionally spawning random portals and taking those unfortunate enough to be near those portal openings back to it's dimension of origin. Some of those taken managed to make it back to their own dimension, while others have become lost upon the 'trans-dimensional hi-way'.

Then one day, a man whose name has been lost to history found his way into this dimensional nexus. Where as all others were obsessed with trying to get back home, or just too overwhelmed to think straight, this man was more than content to stay and explore this uncharted territory. Armed only with his curiosity, he set about the arduous task of trying to unravel the secrets of this strange dimension. His discoveries were astonishing. The dimension was hard pressed to reveal it's secrets, so his first discovery came, quite literally, with the passage of time.

After several days in the nexus, he noticed that he was not suffering from lack of food or water, despite the fact that he had gone almost a week without either. After a full month was spent there, the fact remained that neither hunger nor thirst had touched him. He had concluded that while in this dimension, time was either moving extremely slowly, or stopped altogether. This slowed time also seemed to affect one's metabolism, as the month spent here without food or water had proven. Theoretically, it was quite possible to live forever in this place. Taking this to heart, the man couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew then that he would unlock the secrets of this dimension. He had, after all, all the time in the world to find out.

As the years passed by, he had made two amazing discoveries. The first of which being, that while the portals which lead into the nexus were spawned at random, those that lead out to all the different dimensions are in fact fixed and stable. He had spent several centuries traversing the dimensional nexus, attempting to take note of which portals lead where, helping the occasional wanderer find their way back home, and eventually finding his second, and most important discovery. That being the very center of the dimension, where the force that held it together was most powerful. The core of this dimension resembled a giant multi-faceted crystal, roughly seven feet tall and three feet wide. As much the same way light passes through a prism and refracts into different colors, energy would pass through this crystal and refract into dimensional gateways.

The centuries of wandering the chaotic dimension coupled with contact with the central focus point of the dimension's energy did leave it's mark on the man. He found that he could alter his surroundings within the nexus, change untraversable chaotic areas into stable ones, and could stop AND cause the portals that lead into the nexus to appear. This new found ability to alter reality within the nexus however, proved to be the man's undoing in the end. As it often happens with most humans, the power ended up going to his head.

He attempted to remake the dimension into a less chaotic version of itself, but tried to do it too fast. Given the centuries wandering this shapeless void, it was no small wonder that he would want a change of scenery, but his lack of patience in his matter turned out to be a grievous error. As it turned out, attempting to reshape a dimension was just too much for his body to handle. Though he had the power to do so, the strain of reshaping a dimension coupled with his own lack of experience controlling this new power, led to his channeling way more power than his body could cope with, resulting in his own destruction.

Oddly enough, the man's destruction wasn't the end of his story, but in a way the beginning. While his body was reduced to less than ash by the influx of power he had built up in his attempt to reshape the dimension, his spirit and the accumulated power remained, and merged into one large swirling mass of white energy. This energy then began to become discolored and misshapen, eventually splitting into two separate spheres of energy. One a luminescent gold, the other a deep blood red. Soon the two globes of energy began to contort and take a humanoid shape. The golden orb took the shape of a large man in blue and gold armor, with golden hair, a radiant tone to his skin, and pure golden eyes without pupils. The red orb also took the shape of a large man, only this one was wearing black and red armor, had red hair, a pale, almost pure white tone to his skin, and pure red eyes, also without pupils.

Somehow, the energies of this dimension had sought to revive the man after his destruction, probably due to his contact with the crystalline core of the dimension. But in doing so, the man's spirit had been been divided in the process by the natural chaotic forces forever present in the dimension. What now stood in the man's place were two beings who were the living incarnations of the two most dominant forces of every human's soul: Light and Darkness.

Being polar opposites, the two had quickly called forth blades infused with their own power and alignment and attacked, each trying to destroy the other in this physical representation of the constant battle being waged in the human soul. For what seemed like decades, Light and Darkness were engaged in unending combat. Those who were unfortunate enough to wander into the nexus during this period were witness to this epic battle for a short period, before falling victim themselves to one of the attacks from either Light or Darkness that engulfed large areas all at once. All throughout their fight however, neither could seem to gain any sort of advantage. Aside from their personalities, the two were exactly identical. Both thought up the same strategies, both had the same skill with the sword, and both had the exact same power level, thus resulting in an unending stalemate.

In the end, the battle was brought to an end by the dimension itself. While the man who became Light and Darkness knew more about the dimensional nexus than all others before him, what he didn't know was that the crystalline core of the dimension had what could be considered a rudimentary consciousness, which manifested itself for the first time when it tried to revive the man and instead gave birth to Light and Darkness. Having spent so much time in the nexus, the core's consciousness began to think of the man as another part of itself, which was the reason it tried to revive him after his destruction. Now, the core's consciousness was presented with a different problem. Since both Light and Darkness were born of the core, it was the source of both their power. With the two of them constantly doing their best to destroy each other, they not only were using using up great portions of the core's energy, but doing great damage to the dimension itself.

Manifesting it's will for the second time, this time in an act of self preservation, the core took action against Light and Darkness. Since both were still creations of the core, it did not simply destroy them, as it would be essentially be destroying a part of itself. Instead, Light and Darkness were sealed away into crystal prisons, never to be released. However, as is the case with most other things, as one problem was solved yet another arose.

Light and Darkness had spent so much time fighting each other and channeling massive amounts of energy through their bodies, it had become a natural thing to them. Now that they were imprisoned in crystal, their bodies still naturally accumulated those same massive amounts of energy, only now there was no means of releasing it. They knew what would happen if the energy within them kept building without an outlet for release. It was, after all, the very same thing that caused the destruction of their progenitor.

Faced with their imminent destruction, Light and Darkness knew of a way to save themselves, but neither were very keen about the idea. While they couldn't channel their energy while encased in their crystal prison, they could permanently give up a portion of their power. This would leave them weaker than they were before, but their bodies would stop automatically channeling energy, thus ensuring their survival. While the prospect of becoming weaker wasn't very appealing, it wasn't that they had a problem with. In order to do what need to be done, both would essentially need to give up a piece of their souls, and it was that which gave pause to both Light and Darkness, as neither wanted a piece of their soul lost. However, when at the point of no return, both decided that living while fragmented was a lot better than being whole and dead.

No one, not even Light and Darkness, could have predicted what would happen next. After they had given up a piece of their souls, the positive energy of Light and the negative energy of Darkness met and actually began to merge. As before, the mass of energy began to take the shape of a man, this one wearing a black and gold set of armor. Though his attire looked to favor Darkness, his skin tone was taken from Light. While he had inherited traits from both Light and Darkness, one thing that set him apart from them was his long silver hair and piercing green eyes, also without pupils. Born from the souls of each, this man was a perfect amalgamation of Light and Darkness. He became known as, Balance.

Balance was unique in the fact that, while not as powerful as either Light or Darkness, the powers of both were at his disposal. One other thing that Balance possessed that neither Light or Darkness had, was the memories of their progenitor, who was now referred to as 'The Original', who had spent so many years wandering the nexus. With the combined power and knowledge of his three predecessors, Balance decided to continue The Original's work of reshaping the dimension, while being careful of avoiding the same mistake of overtaxing his body.

Deciding to halt all portals leading into the nexus from opening for now, Balance led all those still in the nexus back to their dimensions of origin, and began to practice and fine tune his ability to alter reality. He spent the next few centuries in isolation, slowly learning to master his abilities. Figuring that it was impatience and inexperience that lead to The Original's demise, Balance was determined to know and master every aspect of his existence and powers.

This time of study and training yielded a rather impressive discovery, that being that he could mentally converse with the core. After learning of core's consciousness, Balance made sure to learn all he could from it, finding yet another amazing, if not disturbing, discovery. His being born of both Light and Darkness meant much more than possessing a piece of their souls.

While Balance was always connected to Light and Darkness, it also worked both ways, as Light and Darkness were always connected to Balance. While this connection allowed Balance access to the powers of Light and Darkness, it also allowed Light and Darkness access to his mind. Should Balance ever lose control of his emotions, there was a possibility that either Light or Darkness would fully manifest and take control of his body. Worse still, seeing as how Balance now possessed the soul fragments of Light and Darkness, if they ever were to manifest themselves and take over Balance's body, they would once again be in possession of their entire soul and return at full power.

After about five centuries, Balance felt that he was ready to begin reshaping and permanently altering the nexus from a chaotic shapeless mass, to what appeared to be a large continent surrounded by mountains and water. At the very center of which stood a most impressive landmark, a gigantic crystal tower which housed the very core of the nexus, protecting it from harm. Balance knew that all of his powers and abilities, his very life in fact, depended on the well being of the core. So as you can probably imagine, he tended to be rather paranoid about it.

He also altered the very nature of the dimension. Remembering that extended exposure to the dimension granted The Original his powers, while exposure to the core accelerated their development. Balance didn't want any more like The Original in the future, since it gave rise to the possibility of another incident which may lead to the creation of other beings like Light and Darkness. With that in mind, he began to remove the time dilation which made it possible to live forever while there. With that gone, things like hunger, thirst, and age would become a factor, and anyone who would try and attempt what The Original had done would soon perish from those elements.

However, all the improvements to the nexus didn't come without a price. Balance realized too late that in order to balance out his removal of the instability and chaos of the nexus, he himself had become a beacon of instability and chaos. Balance had quite literally become a disaster waiting to happen, and it would happen quite often. It was at this point that Balance decided to change his name, after all, whoever heard of a central focus point of chaos called Balance? In archetypal psychology, the Persona is the mask or appearance one presents to the world. With him having gone through so many changes in his psyche, it seemed to fit. That decided, Balance changed his name to Persona, and has continued to go by that name to this day. Along with the change of name, came a change of appearance. In place of his black and gold armor, was a black trench coat with red trim, black and red boots, plain pants and a white shirt with a red cross design. In addition to this, his eyes, while still green, now had pupils.

Having now mastered his powers and having shaped the dimension to his satisfaction, Persona decided it was time to reopen the portals which lead here, but in a much different way than it had been in the past. First, knowing that he would be expecting lots of travel and displaced people with no idea where they were, Persona created a second colossal structure which connected to the crystal tower. This second building would be the area where all those who happened to wander into a random nexus portal would arrive and be told how to return home. It would also be a place that those who actively travel the trans-dimensional hi-way could stay for a while, relax, and enjoy themselves. That being the case, Persona gave this building the appearance of an 'inter-dimensional bar and grill', as it were.

The building was almost a dimension within itself, for even though it was a respectable size from the outside, the room inside was near infinite. After some traveling outside of the nexus to see what people of this day and age enjoyed doing, the building ended up containing a large dining area, lounge, game room, kitchen facilities, pub, night club, arena, MST theater, and even an inn with eighty floors. Persona wanted those who came to this place to have everything that they may want to do available, and there was always room for expansion.

Perhaps the most important room in the entire building was the portal room. Seeing as how the building was going to be the main point of inter-dimensional travel, it seemed only reasonable that the portals to and from the nexus be located in the building.

And so Persona set about the arduous task of creating a large room for each portal, labeling what dimension it lead to, and moving all the fixed portals in the nexus to their new locations. He soon, however, gave up on that idea. There were just too many portals to even attempt it he painfully realized.

Instead, he settled on creating one universal portal. Everything in the multiverse has a unique dimensional energy signature, and using that signature as a key, this universal portal would take those traveling through it back to their home dimension. Once that was complete, all that remained was to name the place. After considering and rejecting a number of potential names, Persona settled on the ironically appropriate '4th Wall Bar and Grill'.

Now that the facilities were ready for use, Persona began travel the multiverse looking for those who would like to work at the 4th Wall, as well as making numerous deals with various people and sources to supply various foods, drinks, and other items to sell at the 4th Wall. While Persona was able to use his powers to create the goods he was purchasing, he felt that frivolous use of his powers would result in him getting used to using them for everything. Extended and careless use of the power at his disposal were, after all, the leading factors in the destruction of The Original, and the imprisonment of Light and Darkness. Persona had no desire to walk down that path, and so decided to import what he felt he would need instead. Though this meant that he would have to charge his customers, it seemed better than the alternative. Besides, Persona had nothing against making money, a fact that would majorly come into play in the near future.

Another thing that he learned during his journey through the multiverse, was that after he left the nexus his powers dropped considerably. While in the nexus, his powers, and those of Light and Darkness for that matter, could be equivalent to that of a demi-god, and that's taking into account that all three were made up of fragmented souls. While outside of the nexus however, his powers were cut to less than three-quarters, though it was still more than enough to ensure his safety in most cases. One good thing about having his power cut so dramatically was that it was almost impossible to overload his body, meaning that he could make plenty of use of his powers and not have to worry about it, save for extreme situations. He was also subject to the physical laws of the dimensions outside of the nexus, meaning that things like hunger and thirst would become a factor for him.

After the re-opening of the portals, Persona knew that people would once again be randomly pulled into the nexus, just as The Original was so long ago. Only now, those who wandered in would have a much easier and enjoyable time than the ones who came before them. What's more, once someone had entered the nexus, Persona could give them the option of returning at any time they wish, if he felt so inclined. For while the natural portals that lead to the nexus were spawned randomly and never in the same place, Persona had the ability of opening a gate to the 4th Wall, allowing what were to become his regulars free access.

His work finally done, Persona smiled and waited for the first arrivals. The 4th Wall was open for Buisness.

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Author's notes:

Would you like to get an invitation to the 4th Wall as well? Well you can! The 4th Wall is a place for characters AND authors to meet during off hours and talk, have something to drink, grab a bite to eat, or to have authors discuss their stories with the characters they're writing about.

But I will not start mentioning authors in the 4th Wall without their permission. So if you want to make a cameo, or have a full blown scene, simply e-mail me and let me know. Writing your own scenes is welcome. Simple cameos require little more than "This is who I am, this is what I'm doing." Please remember to include something like: '4th Wall cameo request' or 'Scene for Tales of the 4th Wall' in your e-mail subject, or it might end up being tossed out without having been opened. Sorry, but with all the viruses popping up in e-mail's now, I tend to delete anything I don't recognize.

Those who write in will get their scenes shown as I update the series. The only rule is to keep it tasteful, anything like "This is who I am, and I score with so and so..." will be promptly tossed in the trash. That and I reserve the right of editing for content.


	2. Welcomes and Explanations

Tales from the 4th Wall

By: Persona

Disclaimer

The 4th Wall Bar and Grill and Persona are (c) Persona, all other characters mentioned are (C) their respective owners.

Author's forward:

This is going to be a bit of a first for me, so try and bare with me. This chapter and the one following are going to be written in first person from the reader's point of view, with a nameless character known simply as "You". This is most like likely going to be the only time I use this format in this series, but I wanted to use these chapters to act as an introduction of sorts to a newcomer to the 4th Wall. Sort of a tour of the facilities as it were.

This will give me the chance to expand upon my descriptions in the first chapter, and give you, the reader and potential cameo, a rough idea of what life at the 4th Wall is like, should you decide that you would like to make an appearance. That being said, please enjoy!

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**Part Two: Welcomes and Explanations**

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Staring at you're surroundings, you wonder how exactly to came to be in the position you are in now. One minute you're walking home, minding your own business, when suddenly a feeling of uneasiness comes over you, followed by a wave of nausea. Next thing you know the was a blinding flash of light, and you found yourself on the floor, confused and disoriented, and in a room that wasn't there ten seconds ago. This further added to the confusion, as you were clearly outdoors before ending up here.

As you get to your feet and collect your bearings, you take note of the room you are currently in. All in all, there isn't much to the room. It's not very big, and doesn't have anything in it other than what looks to be a rather comfortable recliner in the corner. The only other things of note in the room were a stone arch way that held large double doors in the wall furthest from the recliner, and several strange runes carved into the center of the stone floor in a circular pattern. The runes in and of themselves were rather odd, but the fact that they were also glowing was even weirder, and perhaps, even a little disturbing.

Deciding that you wanted to find out where you were, and also to put some distance between this room and yourself, you decided to check the doors. Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, you found that they were locked tight. Slumping down into the recliner, you begin to massage your temples, as if trying to stave off a headache. How was it that you ended up here? And perhaps even more importantly, why?

After about five minutes, there was a knock at the door. Startled out of your thoughts, you found yourself standing tense and alert. All your senses were on edge, not knowing what was behind that door, and whether or not it was friendly. A moment later, you hear what sounds like a lock being opened, followed by the large doors opening.

Standing in the doorway was a man with long silver hair wearing a black trench coat with red trim, black and red boots, plain pants and a white shirt with a red cross design. While you are taking in the appearance of the man in front of you, you find that he is also taking note of you. Though he hasn't said anything yet, you notice that he's smiling and has a kind, if not slightly amused, expression on his face. Once he had entered the room he closed the doors once more, and you could hear them locking once again.

"Well then..." He said, breaking the silence. "I suppose you're wondering just what the hell is going on at the moment. Am I right?" The look you gave him said that he had just made the understatement of the century. The man's smile got a little bigger after seeing the look on your face, and he began to chuckle lightly. Clearly, the humor he found in this situation was not shared.

"I suppose that's understandable." He said after he stopped chuckling. "That's why I'm here though. Please, have a seat. The answers to your questions may take a while to explain, and perhaps longer to comprehend." He had caught your full attention with that phrase. Deciding to heed his request, you sat back in the recliner, eager to finally get some answers. No sooner had you sat down that you found yourself back on your feet in shock, as a second recliner suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind the man, who calmly sat back in it. Noting your shocked look, the man shrugged and grinned. "I thought I'd get comfortable as well. Please, sit back down. I promise all will be explained."

Slowly sitting back down in the recliner, you indicate that you're ready to hear what's going on. Leaning back in his recliner, the man began. "I suppose I should introduce myself first. I'm called Persona, and this is my home. I know that doesn't quite satisfy your question of 'where am I?', so I'll say this as well, you're no longer on earth. Hell, you're no longer in your own dimension anymore!"

You stared at the man now known as Persona in bewilderment and awe. In that one sentence he had single-handedly redefined the words 'impossible', 'insane', and 'blunt'. You were starting to get worried, seeing as how you were stuck in a room with a person who was clearly off his rocker, when Persona continued.

"I know that look. That's the look that says 'this guy's a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic'! I've been given that look several times before." Somehow, this tidbit of information didn't come as much of a surprise to you. "Regardless, what I've said is the truth. You're not the first one to arrive here like this. Let me guess, you were going about your business as usual when you started to feel strange. Suddenly there's a huge flash of light, and the next thing you know, you're here having this delightful conversation with what you consider to be an apparent nut job. Am I close?"

You regarded Persona with a more critical look. He had just described the exact circumstances leading up to this point. Perhaps even more importantly, he said that you were not the first to have this happen to them. Nut job or not, this person obviously knows more about this situation than he's letting on.

"Continuing on, let's discuss where exactly you are." Persona continued, deciding that he had your full attention again. "I assume you've heard of the theory that there are an infinite number of dimensions and alternate realities other than the one you come from. And if you haven't heard of this theory beforehand, well, I just told you, so problem solved!" He quipped with a cheesy grin that caused you to roll your eyes. "Needless to say, that theory isn't just a theory, it's fact. This place where we are now is proof of that. This place exists nowhere, and at the same time, everywhere. A place that is connected to every known dimension there is. This place is commonly referred to as 'The Inter-Dimensional Nexus' to those who know of it's existence."

Persona paused, and you were glad that he did, as your head was beginning to hurt again with what he was telling you. Yes, he was making good on his promise to explain everything, but the answers were actually more confusing than the ignorance. Everything he said was just to incredible to be true, but at the back of your mind, you couldn't help but wonder, what if it is?

"Actually," Persona began again, "the place has changed a great deal since I decided to 'remodel' it. This all used to be one giant chaotic energy tempest. Quite a sight to behold if you were one of the ones who didn't go insane from the lack of most of your senses. But I'm straying from the main points of this discussion. Back on topic, now that you know where you are, it's time to discus why you're here." He said, his face donning a serious expression.

You couldn't help but feel anticipation at this point. If what this person said was true, then there had to be an important reason to be here. Sitting here in what could very well be the center of existence, and talking with someone who calls this place home and can apparently alter the very essence of an entire dimension? You actually began to tremble slightly, feeling that whatever Persona might say next may alter your life forever.

The serious look on Persona's face suddenly turned into a nervous grin, complemented by him rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, I have no idea why you're here!"

If your jaw had dropped any faster, you swear it would have been dislocated. Disappointment and frustration began to well up inside of you. This guy was supposed to have all the answers, now he says he clueless? After a few moments, you notice Persona is having a hard time keeping a straight face, until he finally broke down into laughter. After a few more moments he regained his composure.

"Sorry about that!" He said, still laughing lightly. "It's nothing personal, but I always like to lightly mess with the heads of the new arrivals. The look on you face was priceless!" You gained two valuable pieces of information from that little confession. First, from the way he said 'new arrivals', it seemed safe to assume that people showing up here unexpectedly wasn't that uncommon. Secondly, it seemed that Persona had a rather twisted sense of humor.

"Seriously though, there is no 'reason' that you're here now." Persona continued, now fully recovered. "This dimension has always been chaotic by nature. Granted, it's far less chaotic now then in the past, but one of the dimension's fundamental traits is to randomly spawn portals in random locations in random dimensions. You just happened to be lucky enough to be near one of those random portals when it opened!" You couldn't help but think that apparently you and Persona had different terminology when it came to the definition of 'luck', and saw fit to tell him so.

Persona had to grin at that. "About two hundred years ago I would have agreed with you." **_TWO HUNDRED YEARS?_** Your mind screamed out, noting that the evidence that the person in front of you just wasn't normal kept piling up. Seemingly uninterested at the sudden expression of shock your face registered,Persona continued on. "Today, I've taken steps to make sure that visitors find their stay here enjoyable. This room that we're in is simply an arrival point for those who wander into a random portal. Originally, new arrivals showed up in the main lobby along with everyone else. Boy, what a mistake that was! Most people's brain's couldn't handle what they were seeing and just overloaded, it took quite a lot of time and effort on the part of our medical staff to convince them that they hadn't gone insane. Needless to say, I soon moved the new arrival point to here, where I or my main staff can explain what's going on with much less of a shock. Now comes the fun part."

You involuntarily raised your eyebrow at that comment. Considering all that's been said thus far, coupled with the warped sense of humor Persona had demonstrated thus far, you were almost afraid to hear what this 'fun part' was.

"As it turned out, even once they had this orientation of sorts, some people still couldn't cope with what goes here. As a result, I now offer a choice to everyone at this point. If you wish, you can return home now, without ever seeing what lies beyond those doors." He said, gesturing to the doors directly behind him. "You'll return to your regular life and can believe this little conversation was all part of a really weird dream, should that be your desire. You'll never return here again unless you happen upon another randomly spawned portal, and the odds of that are slim. I only ask that you never mention this place or anything that I've told you to anyone. Not so much for my sake, but for yours. Remember that not many people know about this place, and you may sound like a raving lunatic to those outside of here. Remember the look you gave me at the beginning?" He added with a bit of a smirk.

"Your other option: you choose to stay, and I show you just what lies beyond those doors. While here, you will be subject to all rules and dimensional laws that are in effect here. You will also be subject to the penalties applicable for violation of said rules and laws. Choosing to stay also gives you a rather nice bonus. When the time comes that you want or need to return home, you always have the option of returning here at a later time. It's your choice."

You pause for a moment to consider your options. You know that the first option is the safest, simplest, and least bothersome of the two. It would be quite easy to simply forget about this and move on with your life. But still, there would always be the thoughts of 'what if'. It's human nature to explore the unknown, regardless of the risks. Besides, while whatever lies beyond those doors has the risk of breaking one's mind, wouldn't the constant wondering of 'what would have happened if I had stayed?' be just as maddening as well? What will you do?

1) To play it safe and return to your normal life, simply hit back on your browser.

2) To see what lies beyond the doors, continue onwards. 

Deciding on your course of action, you tell Persona that you want to stay and see what's happening beyond the doors.

Persona smiled and nodded once. "Follow me." He simply said getting up from his recliner. As he stood up, the recliner faded into nothingness. He stood in front of the doors and placed his hand upon them. As he did so, you heard them unlock once again. "They're special doors." He explained. "They don't unlock unless either I or one of the other members of the 'welcoming committee' want them to. Plus they're super tough, it would take far more power than the average human, or even a large group of average humans could muster to force it open. Just as well too, seeing as how the door leads... 'Somewhere else' if forced."

You had the feeling that 'somewhere else' he mentioned was probably none too nice a place and best avoided if possible. Placing that thought in the back of your mind, you watch as Persona pushed on the doors, which opened to reveal a long corridor. Following along side Persona, you begin to wonder how long this corridor could be, as you seem to be unable to see any end to it.

"I'm actually rather glad you decided to stay." Persona said, breaking the silence. "It's been a while since I've been able to give a new arrival the grand tour. Usually I'm too busy running the place to personally welcome someone for the first time, but today's been a bit of a slow day. A bit of a rare occurrence around here actually."

As the two of you continue down the corridor, you notice that the walls now have pictures hanging on them. These pictures depict several familiar scenes. Scenes such as people enjoying a meal, shooting pool, there was even one of a person standing in front of a microphone getting pelted by produce. While the pictures themselves were fairly normal, the people depicted in them were anything but. The pictures depicted different races, species, all manner of beings aside from human. But perhaps the most astonishing thing of all was that you could actually recognize some of these people.

"Interesting pictures, aren't they?" Persona said, noting the stunned expression on your face. "These pictures show some of the events that have taken place where we're going." He continued, stunning you even further. Looking at the next picture, which depicted a human and three other beings that you could only label as 'alien', as you've never seen anything like them before, were engaged in what appeared to be a drinking contest.

"Remember, I said that this place has connections to all realities and dimensions everywhere." Persona said, answering you question before you even had a chance to ask it. "Surely you didn't think that throughout all existence, humans are the only forms of sentient life there is?" Your face flushed in embarrassment, as that was exactly what you were thinking up to a moment ago. You were just beginning to realize why some people simply couldn't cope with whatever went on here. Looking at Persona, you ask him why several of the beings in the pictures look familiar or blatantly recognizable to you.

"Ah, a good question, that one is." He said with a big smile on his face, glad to see that you were more inquisitive than weirded out at the moment. "The answer to your question lies in where you come from. You see, while all realities and dimensions are connected to the Nexus, some reside closer to the Nexus than others. Think of your dimension as encased within a bubble, and surrounding your dimensional bubble are an infinite number of other dimensional bubbles. Using this bubble grid analogy, the Nexus is just like all the other bubbles on the grid, the only difference being that it's the only bubble that can directly link to all the others. Now, the outer rim of your dimensional bubble, the dimensional barrier, is in direct contact with the dimensional barrier of the Nexus. Yours is the only dimension in which this occurs."

"What this means is that the dimensional barrier that separate your dimension from the Nexus, while still intact, is somewhat weakened. This allows people from your dimension to subconsciously view some events that go on in the neighboring dimension. While this occurrence is by no means rare, in your dimension's case it's quite unique. Seeing as the Nexus is connected to everywhere, so too do the people of your dimension get subconscious images from everywhere. Another result of being so close to the Nexus is that more random portals tend to spawn in your dimension than anywhere else, so the majority of visitors we get comes from your home. That leaves you to consider this, perhaps those works of fiction the people on your world tend to enjoy, aren't quite as fictional as you would like to believe." Persona concluded.

Your mind still reeling from the bombshells you were just hit with, you and Persona suddenly found yourselves at the end of the corridor, standing in front of another set of doors. "I feel I must apologize for hitting you with all that information so fast." Persona said as he stopped in front of the doors. "I know your brain must be hurting by now, but I've always believed in the blunt approach. I feel that if you sugarcoat or simply glaze over the truth, you'll have no preparation for what you'll see here." He said, gesturing to the doors behind him. "At least now, though you may be in serious need of an aspirin, you have somewhat of an idea of what to expect. Now, let's continue."

That having been said, Persona opened the door and lead you into a lobby where all manner of beings, like the one you saw in those pictures, were conversing. Looking back at you with a large smile, Persona extended his arms to the sides, as if it indicate everything around you.

"Welcome to the 4th Wall, please check your sanity at the door and enjoy your stay!"


End file.
